


Aren't You Supposed To Be Dead?

by Selene467



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Family, Gen, Mystery, little bit of drama sort of, timetravel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:22:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1605002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selene467/pseuds/Selene467
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future, leader-like Harry abruptly drops into the past in the middle of an Order Meeting in the summer between fourth and fifth year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You're Supposed to be Dead

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I started on fanfiction . net and decided to upload here as well. It was born as a completely random drabble, but grew into a multi-chaptered story that is still ongoing, but I've got it figured out where it leads and ends, although the end is a still a bit all over the place I know the overall idea of how to end it.
> 
> Please do not think too heavily on all possibly time-travel theories, I'm going to keep it as simple as possible or I'd give myself a headache. 
> 
> If you enjoyed it please leave a comment, I'd really appreciate it. 
> 
> And enjoy!

Albus Dumbledore nodded at Alastor thanking him silently for his report on the current situation. There wasn't much known as of yet and little to be found. Voldemort -supposedly alive and whole again- had made no appearances or even distant signs of truly being back. The Ministry ignorantly threw aside the mere thought of Voldmeort returning, their fear too strong to allow any reason to enter their minds. But Dumbledore believed Harry -the poor boys' condition upon return from the maze should have been prove enough. He'd witnessed something horrible and the moment he'd spoken those words to Dumbledore -he's back, Voldemort is back - he'd known they were true. There had been no doubt in his mind.  
  
A subtle cough drew Albus' attention back to the meeting. It was uncharastic of him to get so distracted, but it had been happening more often lately. He looked around the room at the many trusted members of the Order seated around the long, rectangular table, waiting for him to take charge, give orders, prepare a plan of action. With a depe sigh, Albus spoke.  
  
"Very well, Alastar. Our next course of action should- "  
  
A bright light from the neighboring room made Albus swallow his words. All eyes turned to the light only to flinch shut as it brightened further to a point where it actually hurt with eyes still closed. "What the- !" someone grumbled as everyone turned away from the light not of their own accord -after all, it could be dangerous.  
  
A loud thud and the the light died out so suddenly, it was like someone flipped a switch. As one the member sof the Order rose, turning towards the living room with wands raised and eyes focussed despite the remaining effects of having watched into bright light, dots ad splotches of bright,differing colors interrupting their vision. Through it though, each and everyone of them noticed the blurry outline of a body on the carpeted floor before the crisp fire burning in the hearth.  
  
Sirius was the first to notice the familiarity of the apparent, unconscious person. How he could he not recognise the unruly black hair, the glasses -albeit askew on the person's face, possibly from his abrupt arrival- and the skinny, lanky body that didn't seem to thicken no matter how much the kid got fattened up at Hogwarts or at the Weasley's. As other slowly came to recognise the identity of the boy on the ground, Sirius felt his breath returning to him, yet the shock of the situation still left ihm somewhat breathless. With barely enough air, he gasped the name.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
A collective intake of breath seemed to pass through the room -after all, HArry wasn't supposed to be here, he should be in Surrey- but it was the reaction of the supposedly unconscious Harry -who turned out not to be as supposedly unconscious- that took everyone by surprise.  
  
The second that his name had been spoke, or more accurately gasped, his eyes wihich had been firmly shut snapped open. In the blink of an eye, Harry had effortlessly flipped himself upon his feet -a move no one knew he was even capable of. He swiftly turned around to face the Order, his wand raised in a slight aim towards them ready to fire any spell, curse or jinx neccessary. His stance too screamed prepareness, slightly crouched or hunched as it were as if he might need to bolt on the flip of a hat. And his eyes, his usually bright, emerald eyes were clouded and drawn tight in suspiscion as he regarded them each with an almost wild, feral expression before settling on the most obvious threat, Albus Dumbledore who coincidentally was also standing at the front of the group.  
  
Seconds ticked by, everything was moving so fast that it seemed as if time itself has stopped, but no one spoke as they all still seemed stunned at this strange turn of events. As the silence lasted, Sirius noticed other changes about Harry other than his eyes. His clothes, though his normal muggle attire of a shirt, jeans and sneakers were still present, had changes slightly. He wore a black jacket with several pockets and straps on them that almost seemed to be hding something. Then there were the fading bruises on the side of his face and reaching into his hairline, the fact that his hair seemed moist as if it had recently been wet and the dirt and sand covering his clothing.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Albus' voice broke through the stunned crowd and Alastar Mood wasted no time in raising his own wand and stepping right next to the headmaster. Harry's reaction was instant as he moved his body in a slightly different position and angle clearly meant to cover both Dumbledore and Alastar as if he sensed the growing threat.  
  
Sirius cursed the ridiculous thought. There wa sno threat here, not for Harry. This was his home. But a fleeting thought burst through his muffled mind, reminding him that Harry shouldn't be here, wouldn't even know where here is nor be able to get here. In other words, this couldn't possibly be Harry, could it?  
  
Noticing everyone else following suit with drawing their wands, Sirius somewhat reluctantly raised his own too. Despite wanting it to be Harry, to have his godson here and safe, his rational mind -what was left of it after all these years at least- could not shake the knowledge that Harry couldn't possibly be here, couldn't possibly get here without someone of the Order bringing him here. This couldn't be Harry.  
  
"Who are you?" Mood very nearly growled out the question, impatience at Albus' lack of command in the current situation seriously bothering him. The Potter-by lookalike regarded him almost curiously, bobbing his head sideways but there was an undeniable sadness in those eyes that unsettled him, something he'd never admit out loud of course. Something was off about this boy.  
  
The tension in the room was reaching a point where it felt like the air was sucked out of the room, but no one moved or made any sound as they waited and anticipated either an attack or an answer. What they got was an answer, but nothing like they had expected.  
  
"Mad-eye Moody, you're supposed to be dead."  
  
  
 _tbc_


	2. It's a Statement, not a Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the abrupt arrival of one Harry Potter, the Order is in for a surprise as to how very different Harry appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Don't depend on anyone, because even your shadow leaves you when your in darkness._

A collective intake of breath went around the room, several people holding their hand before their mouth as if to stifle the sound or perhaps to show the horror they felt. Whereas several people were shocked, others reacted differently. Many of the more seasoned Order members, mostly aurors, tensed up and held their wands more securely, their eyes never wavering from the boy.

  
Dumbledore's eyes had narrowed, not into a glare but as if he was trying to figure something out. Sirius stood frozen unable to decide how to react for this was an answer he'd never expected to ever hear from his godsons' mouth. The little voice in his head reminded him that this couldn't be Harry and after what this lookalike had said, it seemed even more true that this wasn't Harry.

  
Mad-Eye Moody was neither startled, shocked or horrified. He wasn't even nervous or anxious. His one good eye almost glinted in anticipation as he took a step forward past Albus, stretching out his wand arm even further and taking a most intimidating stance. His magical eye swirled wildly in its socket as it tried to fix itself upon the supposed Potter-boy.

  
"Is that a threat?"

  
Albus laid a gentle hand on Alastor's shoulder, not to restrain him but merely to remind him not too act rashly. He knew he shouldn't worry about Alastor, the man was an experienced auror and knew how to play his cards. Yes, he was mad, but a little madness did not unhinge him. He had utter faith in him, but something made him take caution. After all, an act of fury or loss of control could happen so quickly and he couldn't risk Alastor injuring the boy who looked so much like Harry.

  
The Harry lookalike fixed his eyes on Moody, glancing a mere moment at the deadthly aim of the mans' wand. He cocked his head to the side in a similar fashion as moments earlier, regarding the newest developement of this situation with almost an air of curiosity. There was no trepidation in his eyes, no shake or tremble in his limbs, no irregular breathing. He was utterly calm, almost detached if the eyes were any indication, which they were. Those usually bright, emerald eyes seemed dull and defeated. No not defeated, just, without caring. He looked as if nothing fazed him, like he was dead inside. This made a shiver run up even  Mad-Eye Moody's spin, but he hid it well.

  
"No."

  
The answer was abrupt, without warning. There was no indication the boy was going to answer him. One moment he had been regarding him with a dead curiosity, a curiosity not for the sake of being curious but merely because he had no reason for anything else. No reason for suspiscion, no reason for anger, no reason for distrust, no care for anything. Curiosity merely because Moody had done something different from everyone else. What was wrong with this boy?  
  
"No." The boy repeated in that same numb voice, void of emotion as the silence dragged on. He effectively caused everyone to tense up again after having felt the slightest relieve at his answer. "I was merely stating a fact."  
  
Again, the room went silent. Many people turned almost feverish eyes towards Moody, Nymphadora Tonks being one of them, as if expecting Moody to drop dead right then and there.

  
Moody was quickly getting fed up with the whole situation and the lack of proper response from everyone in the room. An intruder had just landed in the middle of Headquarters which shouldn't even be possible, he looked like the Potter-boy and he was acting exceptionally strange. And then there was that cold, dead, numb aura surrounding him. Not to mention the absolute lack of reaction at being cornered and having more than a dozen wands pointed at him.   
His magical eyes swerved into the back of his head -revealing the icky whiteness of the back of his eye to the boy- to look menacingly at the fools behind him who were looking at him as if he were a talking corpse merely because the boy said he was dead! Tonks, his former student, quickly recovered herself and had the deceny to look ashamed for her reaction.

  
Remus in the mean time struggled with his inner wolf. Despite the absolute impossibility of this boy being Harry, despite the obvious changes about him proving this couldn't possibly be his Harry -his cub- his feelings -his instincts- were shouting at him to protect him, to stand in between his cub and all the drawn wands. It was shouting at him to lower his own godforsaken wand! It was only the shere force of his own willpower that kept his wand aloft, but his arm was trembling, nearly shaking by now. He was half-listening to what was going on while the rest of his attention was fighting Moony.  
The full moon was mere days away and it was calling to Moony, giving his inner wolf strength wereas his human self had to struggle with what it always had. Remus knew he would lose, that much was certain. Be it today, tomorrow or the next he would lose if only for a minute and he knew he could count on Sirius to stop him, calm him down. But right now, with the current situation, Remus felt his grip on Moony wavering. Was this really Harry?

  
Moody's magical eye quickly turned itself the right way in its socket, once again fixing madly upon the boy still facing them with a calm aura as if he were merely visiting and old friend. Moody saw from the corner of his eye, his good eye, movement from the old headmaster. Albus was a wise man and powerful indeed,  but Moody could tell that he was perturbed by this sudden change of events. It was no secret that the headmaster cared for the boy and to suddenly see him standing here with obvious signs of having been in some sort of struggle, not to mention how strangely detached he was, -when he should in fact be safe with his relatives, was enough to even unsetlle the great Albus Dumbledore.

  
Thus Moody made to stop Albus' approach, stepping in front of the man and halting his movement. Albus didn't even spare him a glance, his eyes fixated on Potter, confusion and concern shining through his calm exterior. Moody blessed their good graces that this hadn't happened any other day -at least today of all days those damn brats weren't present- for if Albus was unsettled, how would those kids react to seeing Potter in this state?

  
Having had enough of this silent stand-off, Mad-Eye made to demand a proper answer, more than a mere syllable or sentence. He wanted to get the whole damn story of who this really was and how he'd gotten in here, but he never got the chance for at that exact moment the blasted Black house elf decided to appear. And by appear he meant apparation, one of his newest annoying quirks to unsetlled Order Meetings. The following reaction however, unsetlled the entire situation.

  
Taken by surprise at the sudden crack of the apparating house elf by the name of Kreacher, several non-aurors set off sparks with their wands. Moody reacted immediately and fired a stunning spell at Potter, expecting him to see the sparks as a threat. A blue shield erupted in front of Potter -had he even uttered the spell?- and his own spell bounced harmlessly off the shield. Moody cursed and made to go around the boy, but he was suddenly tackled from the left and before he could blink felt himself slammed up against a wall staring into the eyes of one very unhinged looking Remus Lupin.

  
"Remus!"

  
Sirius wasted no time in rushing after his friend, trying to stop him from ripping Moody to pieces. He vaguely wondered what had set him of -sure it was close to the full moon, but even Moony wasn't normally this aggressive for no reason. As Sirius aided by Kingsley tried to restrain Remus, the rest of the people in the room were ina  frenzy. People were shouting at Remus and Moody, others were scrambling to get away from the unhinged werewolf knocking over chairs and other pieces of furniture. Wands were changing targets between Harry and Remus as people tried to get it together and Kreacher shouted insults and profinities while hiding in the furthest corner from the struggle. And of course Mrs. Black joined the fray with her shrill, cruel voice shouting along with Kreacher as if in sync with the nasty elf.

  
In all this -as Albus kept a firm eye on the struggle in case he needed to help- he noticed a drastic change in Harry. No longer were his eyes dead and emotionless, no longer was his body holding steadfast, no longer was his breathing calm. His eyes were wide with definite fear blazing inside, his hand was trembling and grasping his wand with such a vice-like grip his knuckles had turned white and his breathing had sped up considerately, his mouth slightly open as if he couldn't catch enough oxygen through just his nose.

  
As if sensing the Headmasters' gaze, Harry locked eyes with him and in that second Albus realized the boy's next move. He saw the frantic fear, terror really, that demanded flight. He was going to run.  
  
The boy aimed his wand up at the ceiling firing a spell without uttering an incantation. Albus had barely enough time to move out of the way of the heavy ornate lighting of the Black living room, but it was enough. Harry ran for the nearest door which happened to lead the the main hallway with the front door, easily jumping over a table that stood in his path. Spells missed the boy by inches as he ran for his escape.

  
"Harry!"

  
Sirius had noticed the spells flying about and caught a glimpse of his godson -or was it his not-godson- as he blasted open the door and disappeared into the darkened hallway, his mothers' loud screams sounding far louder with the open door. Knowing Kingsley had Remus under control, Sirius sprinted after his godson, beating everyone else who had been in pursuit and had been far closer, and delved into the dark yet extremely loud hallway. His eyes widly searched for the front door at the end of the hallway only to find it still shut tight. A sliver of movement from above caught his attention. Harry had run upstairs!

  
Sirius bolted up the stairs, his fellow Order members following fast, and caught a glimpse of Harry disappearing onto the next staircase. Sirius sprinted after him, only to have to throw himself onto the ground as a spell or jinx came soaring towards him. People behind him hit the ground while others jumped aside hitting the walls. The spell hit the back wall and almost instantly the wallpaper came to life, ripping loose and wrapping around anyone within reach. Sirius hesitated but determined eyes belonging to Tonks -how had she managed not to trip yet?- caught his gaze.

  
"GO!" She shouted and without wasting anymore time Sirius bolted ahead after his quarry. He managed to dodge the still coming to life banister of the staircase, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face when the steps disappeared and became one huge slide, but he managed to grab the corner of the wall and pulled himself up onto normal ground. If Harry was trying to escape, Sirius couldn't fathom why he'd go up two storeys. But he didn't have the time to wonder any of this. He had to find Harry first. So he hoisted himself up and ran down the only hallway. Turning the corner he came to a sudden stop.

* * *

  
Harry ran like his life depended on it, which his instincts were scremaing he were. His rational mind would have told him otherwise but he had only his irrational mind present at the moment. He could tell one of them -Sirius- was following closely. He had to slow him down, he couldn't catch up to him. He needed time to escape. Muttering a few well-chosen words, Harry aimed his wand over his shoulder and heard several thuds and shouts as people ducked and jumped to avoid his spell. When more shouts erupted he knew he had aimed true. Not taking any chances though, he cast several more spells at the stair and banister bfore bolting down another freaking hallway. He skidded around the corner and almost smiled. He made it, for now.

  
Without pausing Harry aimed his wand focussing on every ounce of strength his magic possessed. "BOMBARDA!" The spell charged ahead towards the window only to slam against in invisible barrier which rippled as if it were water before vanishing from sight once more. Harry felt relieve at the sight. The barrier was the same and its weak point was also at the same spot.

  
He cast his eyes wildly about for anything he could use. He decided upon an out-of-place snowglobe -it seriously did not fit with the decor- and ran over to the window. Quickly casting the neccessary spell upon the object, Harry swung his arm forward hitting the window with brute force. The ripple returned but this time a bright light followed it, blinding the entire house from the inside. The sound of shattering glass reached Harry's ears but so did the sound of footsteps, clumsy footsteps, as if someone was stumbling towards him.

  
The light vanished just as quickly as it had appeared and Harry blinked to clear his vision. He kept utterly still, even though he knew the perosn behind him did not want to harm him. "Harry?" Sirius couldn't believe his luck that Harry hand't escaped yet. The blinding light had scared him for he knew exactly what it had meant. The protective barrier around Grimmauld Place had been damaged or even fully broken. Looking at the missing window he knew it had been Harry.

  
The statue-like boy tensed as his felt the magic pulsing around him, offended by the aggressive intrusion, and he knew his time was severely limited. If he wanted out, it was now or never. He looked at the snowglobe in his hand a sif it held the answers, but he knew what his answer was. He looked over his shoulder at his godfather and for the first time since arriving showed the utter sadness he carried in his eyes. The emotionless eyes were suddenly throbbing with sadness and Sirius sucked in his breath at the sight. But just as quickly as the sadness had shown, it also left again. Harry then suddenly threw an object towards Sirius who caught it at the last second and looked confused from the globe to his supposed godson. Harry smirked -an unnatural look for him- before turning back around and diving through the window.

  
Sirius surged forward reaching for the windowsill only to be mercilessly thrown on his back as the barrier fixed the whole which was the window and smoothed back out around Grimmauld Place twelve. Sirius jumped to his feet despite knowing it was futile and stared out of the window. There was no sign of Harry anywhere. His pup was gone.  
  


_tbc_


	3. He's Harry, but not Our Harry.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the Order tries to find out who this Harry look-a-like truly is, Harry discovers where or rather when he is and has to make an important choice.

"You let him escape?!"

  
"Incompetent fool!"

  
"Calm down!"

  
"It was hardly my fault!"

  
"This isn't helping!"

  
"We're in danger, he's seen the Order!"

  
"SILENCE!"

  
Everyone shut up immediately, most probably having flashbacks to their own time at Hogwarts as a student. All eyes turned to Albus Dumbledore who stood watching them with those glinting blue eyes, perfectly calm as if he did not just raise his voice.

"Want to advice everyone to remain calm. As long as we do not have all the facts there is no reason to panic. Vigilance, yes," Albus said noticing Moody about to interrupt him. " but no reason to panic. We are all adults so lets behave as such."

  
Albus allowed a moment of silence to pass, giving everyone the opportunity to pull themselves together, and some seemed to be admonihsing themselves from the look on their faces. When everyone had calmed down and was paying proper attention, Albus continued. "Arthur, I would ask of you to go to Hogwarts and inform Minerva that her students will be remaining at Hogwarts a little longer than we originally planned. I do not want them involved with any of this just yet." Arthur nodded in understanding. "You may inform both Minerva and your wife of the situation, just make sure no one overhears you." Arthurs' expression said clearly that he understood what the headmaster was hinting at. On more than one occassion his children had listened in, or tried to at least, on one of their meetings. He was glad they hadn't been present today, Arthur could only imagine the chaos if they'd seen this changed Harry.

  
"Very well," Dumbledore continued, turning to look at Kingsley."Kingsley, would you please check on our Harry? Make sure he is safely at his relatives. I do not believe it was our Harry that just escaped us, but we have to rule out every possibility. At Kingsley's nod, Dumbledore turned to Moody. "Alastor, I believe you are our best choice to investigate the spells our young visitor used to elude us. Tonks, I'd like you to assist."

  
"That will be all. I must go to the Ministry now. I'll be back soon and hopefully we'll have more answers then. Please send a Patronus immediately, were our young visitor to return."

  
Before anyone could argue or so much as blink, Albus Dumbledore stepped into the green flames and was gone. While everyone went about their own, Sirius sat down in the living room on the somewhat plush sofa. Like a silent shadow, Remus followed him and sat in the nearby armchair. Sirius hardly noticed the curious yet concerned stare of his best friend. In his hands he fiddled with the snowglobe Harry has thrown him, his eyes drawn to the dribbling, fake snowflakes within whenever he moved it. Harry was so different. He seemed detached yet still responded to every small change around him from what Sirius had seen so far. He may not show that he was reacting, but he was. The mere fraction of a movement, an extra unneccessary blink of an eye, a slow or faster breath, a hint of eye movement, changing weight ever so slightly to the other leg, gripping his wand tighter or relaxing it the tiniest fraction. Sirius had noticed all of this because he'd been so shocked to see Harry right there, that he couldn't help but look at him and see everything.

  
However, this meant he also saw other things. Things like those fading, yet still clearly visible bruises on his forehead and hairline; the cuts on his cheek and hands; the dirst and stains on his clothing and the rumpled state of the clothing; the wild look in those emerald eyes the very first moment he looked at them. As Sirius got lost in thought  more and more one other thing suddenly stood out. The sudden change in Harry's behaviour right before he threw him the snowglobe and jumped out the window, dived to be more accurate. Harry had first shown an incredible sadness when he'd locked eyes with him, but right after that -as if he'd shrugged off his sadness- he had smirked, smirked! Harry never smirked as far as Sirius knew. It was almost unbefitting the kid. So this left Sirius to wonder what could possibly make someone change so drastically, to behave in such oppposites; sadness and near glee, detached and responsive. Sirius heaved a heavy sigh as he looked up into the burning fire, the snowglobe still in his hands. Somehow he couldn't bear to let go of it.

  
Remus had been watching concerned as Sirius slipped deeper into a mood he'd rather nto see him in. As if he hadn't been thorugh enough, now his mood was once again affected so deeply by another situation. But Remus decided not to disturb Sirius right now, if the look in his eyes was anything to go by, he needed quiet and peace. Remus felt a heaviness around his own heart, for Sirius, for Harry, for himself. If only something could go right for a change; this thought haunted his mind as he stared numbly out the window into the dark world surrounding them as if it were mocking them, hiding what they were looking for.

* * *

  
In a small clearing, hardly passing for a small park, a little bird landed gracefully on the back of a bench, seconds earlier inhabited by an older man. On a closer look one might have noticed the little bird was a a black merlin, a subspecies of the merlin bird. Perched on the bench, the small bird twitched its tail as its head swivelled around in all directions. As if deeming it safe, the little merlin hopped down onto the seat  beside the disgarded newspaper. Anyone who had turned around or blinked at that point would be very startled to see not a bird but a young man sitting on the bench.

  
Harry stretched his back and arms trying to rid himself of the stiffness in his muscles. He was bone-tired after having been in a heavy battle, getting transported someplace from which he had to escape and then transforming himself into a small bird and fly a rather large distance. Not to mention the absolute lack of sleep that he was juggling around for more than a week already.

  
Harry heaved a heavy sigh before snatching the newspaper off the bench. He closed his eyes one more time, readying himself for what he already knew in his heart. Opening his eyes, he rapidly searched for the date and froze. He'd been right. It had really happened.

  
July 1995

  
He had travelled into the past?! How was he going to get out of this mess? And was it even his own past? With his luck he'd end up in an alternate dimension too. He could almost hear that familiar voice chastising him for such a riduculous thought, but his mind quickly shut up. Not going there. He had enough to deal with, no need to grieve himself with more.

  
Harry stood up from the bench and looked left and right. Where to? Left back where he came from, right would lead him on further from where he came from. The problem lay with risks; did he risk changing things merely by his presence being near them or did he dare not risk it and stay as far away as possible but risk never finding out how he even got here in the first place nor finding a way back. Could he figure it out on his own or did he need their help? Surely it wouldn't be a coincidence that he arrived in 1995 in the middle of headquarters, especially considering that was not where he was when he disappeared from his own time.

  
Which way to go?

* * *

  
Albus Dumbledore was relieved to step out of the fire at Headquarters once again. The Minister didn't require too much time, for a change. Many pairs of eyes looked up at his entrance and Albus was glad to see Arthur and Kingsley had both returned before him. Wasting no time, Albus immediately jumped to the most important assignment. "Kingsley, I take it your lack of Patronus means our Harry is still safely at his relatives?"  
  
"Yes, he's still with his relatives and he doesn't seem to be aware of anything going on. In fact he looked rather bored and down. No indication that this otherHarry could have contacted him."  
  
"Good, good. Arthur, is everything taken care of at Hogwarts?" Albus continued. From the corner of his eye he noticed Alastor and Tonks slipping into the room. Alastor showed no expression, but Tonks looked impressed by what they had discovered.  
  
"Everything is taken care of, the kids did not notice anything," Arthur informed. Before even having to acknowledge him, Alastor spoke up knowing it was his turn to report to the headmaster.  
  
"There was quite a jumble of spells used, mostly the same with minor variations meant to strengthen the spell in a different way. The spell he used was The Inanimatus Conjurus spell. This was the only one spell he used, but with minor variations in the wand movement or in how much magic he put into the spell. Some made the spell last longer, other variations made the spell stronger in the sense that whatever object he spelled could handle more before it was defeated or could do more damage. The spell itself is no easy spell but with hard work one can learn it reasonably fast. However, the variations are rather advanced. It's not easy to change a spell, even in such a small scale. This boy is really peculiar to be able to pull this off. He definitely knows what he's doing."  
  
Throughout this all, Tonks was nodding vehemently her eyes still ablaze with amazement.  
  
"This still doesn't tell us who he really is nor where he came from," Remus suddenly stated. The energy got very nearly sucked out of the room as everyone realized they were no closer to figuring this boy out.  
  
"Actually, there might be a way." All eyes turned to one Sirius Black who had been eerily silent for a while now. Sirius held up the snowglobe for all to see and noting the sudden twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, Sirius knew the man had caught on. "Harry, if he is in fact Harry, used this item to get through the protective barrier..." He paused long enough to see if anyone caught on. Moody did.  
  
"He used his magic on the item! He left his magical signature!"  
  
Sirius smiled for the first time in days. This would get them somewhere, finally. Those spells the boy that looked like Harry had used would not leave a magical signature, or at least not a very strong one. Nothing strong enough to deduce whose' magic it was. But the snowglobe, he'd used direct magic on it while holding it in his hand. His hand, his body had been connected directly with the spell and then made contact also with a magical barrier. Something like that left a definite strong signature. Sirius cursed himself for not thinking of this earlier.  
  
The snowglobe got snatched out of his hands Tonks who haphazardly threw it at Moody -she threw it only because she lost her grip on it, it would have fallen otherwise. Sirius pushed down the flush of anger because he needed to focus on the outcome of this. Moody cast the well-known spell to detect a magical signature. For a moment nothing happened, then a bright blue, glow enveloped the snowglobe before shattering into a million tiny sparkles surrounding them in the air. Sirius remembered suddenly that his own magical signature was also blue, though a shade darker than this one. Not everyone had the same color. James for example had a yellow signature whereas Lily's had been purple. Remus was a nearly pure white. They'd gone nuts with the spell the moment they had gotten the hang of it.  
  
Everyone watched mesmerized as the tiny sparkles moved towards each other until they formed letters in the air. They formed a name and a collective intake of breath went around the room as the name hovered in front of them:  
  
Harry James Potter  
  
"Wait, but how is this possible?" Kingsley suddenly spoke. "Harry is still in Surrey with his relatives. How can this be Harry as well?"  
  
"Well clearly this proves he's Harry, he's just not our Harry..." Sirius stated confidently although near the end he used a light questioning tone as if he wasn't sure of what he'd just said made any sense.  
  
"Well, then the question is this; if he is Harry but not our Harry, then what is- " Tonks never finished as another voice interrupted her.  
  
"A time-traveller," All eyes turned to the voice and found one familiar black-haired teen standing casually in the doorway. "I believe I traveled through time."  
  


_tbc_


	4. Knowing You Limits and Forgetting Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry returns to HQ but thing quickly escalate once more and Dumbledore takes his curiosity one step too far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'll start letting my guard down when people stop giving me reasons to keep it up._

Harry hid the smirk he felt rising at the sight of so many startled faces. He'd expected a bit more composure from the so-called Order of the Phoenix, a sentiment he was convinced Mad-eye agreed upon. Much to Harry's surprise hardly anyone went for their wand, only the obviously paranoid Moody and a few other aurors, although no one except for Moody seemed actually intend on using it. Such heroes, Harry thought with mild disgust. They would never stand a chance against Voldemort with this attitude.  
  
Harry felt the thundering stare before he saw it. He went to stand up straight, a minor show of respect although he wondered if he should even bother. Already wishing to lean back into that casual stance -which in reality was nothing but an act to ease his own anxieties- Harry forced himself to look at Albus Dumbledore, his former Headmaster, appreciated mentor and yet also a manipulating grievance in his life. He had yet to decide which side of Dumbledore he believed was real, so for now he merely acted cautious around the man and showed respect when he deserved it.  
  
Those twinkling blue eyes he never seemed to get rid of, bore right into his own. The room seemed to fall silent or maybe he'd simply blocked them all out. He felt himself being locked down, trapped within that glance but he refused to back down. Too little too late, Harry realized what the old man was doing, or rather trying to do. The smallest pressure on his mind caused an eruption even Albus Dumbledore couldn't have foreseen. Harry shouted silently in his mind as he literally pushed with all his magic at the intrusion, forcing him out. Dumbledore had barely scratched the barrier, let alone seen anything yet of Harry's memories, but that didn't matter in Harry's opinion.  
  
No one was allowed near his mind, let alone inside it!  
  
Albus Dumbledore's presence disappeared abruptly and Harry mentally sighed in relieve. His anger however was far from gone, in fact it was rising. Opening his eyes -Harry was a bit surprised he'd had them closed in the first place which just went to show how unexpected this turn of events had been- and looked upon the old headmaster. On the outside he didn't seem fazed at all, as if nothing had happened which explained why no one was pointing a wand at him or trying to restrain him. Harry felt glee rise inside him when he remembered the equivalent of a flinch from the headmaster when he'd forced him out. It was less than he deserved for intruding like that.  
  
Cautiously, with a tight hold on his shields, Harry looks up into those eyes again. Not because he wanted to see Dumbledore's reaction or intentions, but because he wanted the man to see the fury inside his own emerald ones. Harry watched as the famous twinkle disappeared and couldn't resist the smirk from forming. You have been warned, Harry thought to himself.  
  
Upon seeing the smirk, Sirius felt shivers run up his spine. Again that look on his godson's face. Obviously something went down just now, but for the life of him Sirius couldn't figure it out. Neither Harry nor Dumbledore had moved or shown any signs of distress or anything. They hadn't even blinked! "Uhm should we get started or- "  
  
"By the lack of reaction around here I'm guessing you figured it out or suspected something akin to time travel. So lets skip the pleasantries and get to it." Harry interrupted his godfather and without preamble Harry walked past everyone and sat down in the chair at the head of the table. He placed his feet up on the table, crossed his arms and waited.  
  
Many people looked lost at his behavior and as expected tried to figure out with glances at the headmaster what they should do. Harry couldn't believe this was the mighty Order of the Phoenix. His own defense group was dozens of time better. No one could sneak in without nearly all of them of them having their wand up the intruders' throat. Silently Harry scoffed at them all when finally someone took action. As expected, it was not the so-called leader of this little band of 'heroes'.  
  
"You may be be Harry Potter, but I trust you as much as I trust Mundungus. So you better save the attitude, boy, and start talking. In fact , you may even hand over your wand. Don't want any repeats of your earlier performance."  
  
Harry eyed Moody for a few seconds before smiling at the silly auror. "Dear, paranoid, Mad-Eye," Harry began in a clearly condescending tone of voice, "I've seen a lot in my short time alive, more than you'd expect and if you believe for a second that I would hand over my wand, well then you really are nothing short of an idiot."  
  
"Why you...- !"  
  
"Besides, if you can't even fight off a few charmed objects -like say, wallpaper?- then how do you propose to rid me of my wand? Honestly, I'm curious, in fact why don't you give it a shot?"  
  
Harry was baiting the seasoned auror, that much was obvious to everyone. There was a certain aura surrounding the boy, young man really, that screamed a form of benevolence in their minds. If they weren't sure before, then they were now; This Harry was far more dangerous than any of them. After all, who was mad enough to antagonize Alastor Moody!  
  
"That's quite enough, Harry." Albus Dumbledore stepped up behind Harry and was about to lay a hand on the boys' shoulder, but thought better of it. Instead he walked around him and seated himself in the nearest chair, motioning the other people in the room to do the same. Some sat down, but some remained standing like a certain crazy auror. "As you said, Harry, lets get down to business." Blue eyes met emerald ones in a hard stare but there was no intrusion on his mind this time.  
  
"Lets start with how you got here." Moody immediately asked.  
  
Harry's eyes closed for a moment as he heaved an invisible sigh. "Oh I don't know, a wild guess says it may have been magic!" the sarcasm was dripping off the comment but Harry didn't care. He had a headache, he was exhausted and he was definitely not in the mood for twenty questions.  
  
"Don't get smart with me, boy. I've dealt with far worse than you and I will not hesitate to handle you the same way I do them." the threat seemed lost on Harry who didn't even bother to glance at Alastor. This only served to anger the auror further and he was not known for his patience. "Now talk! How did you get here? Was it a spell? A curse?"  
  
"So eager," Harry drawled out, knowing he was only making matters worse but unable to stop his remarks. It had become second nature to him after everything he'd been through and it was really difficult to just turn it off. "All I know is that I did nothing for a change-" Sirius and Remus couldn't resist the smallest of smiles to tug at the corners of their mouths at the definite Harry response. It was a known quote of Harry's, that trouble came looking for him and not the other way around. "...and as far as I can tell nothing hit me. One moment I was running, the next I was here."  
  
"Running?" Moody questioned as he suddenly smirked back at the kid. "Running away from something, were you?"  
  
"No actually. I was running towards a friend who was surrounded by enemies and had no one to back him up because everyone else was busy fighting for their own lives!" Harry hadn't meant to shout, but what Moody had suggested had hit a nerve. Harry would never run away if any of his friends were in danger and that someone dared accuse him of such an act of cowardice didn't go over well.  
  
"Alastor, that's enough." Harry didn't spare Dumbledore any attention as the man admonished the auror, but instead turned the other way where Remus Lupin spoke for the first time.  
  
"Harry, it's alright. We don't mean to accuse you. We just want to understand, so please, would you tell use what happened that brought you here?"  
  
"I honestly don't remember much," Moody scoffed, looking ready to pummel Harry, but he ignored him and focused on Remus and Sirius beside the man as he spoke, "There was a huge battle, everyone was fighting for their lives. I saw Neville, he was outnumbered and there was no one near him. Something happened, I can't remember what but it was something significant and then a light came from below and surrounded me, swallowed me almost and I got pulled down, like really down, as in I sank into the earth. Then everything went black and I woke up here."  
  
Before anyone could speak up, Moody rushed forward to stand right before Harry. "A likely story that in no way implicates yourself. Why don't you try again and this time admit to whatever unspeakable thing you've done! No one just gets sucked through time!"  
  
Harry had witnessed Moody losing it a few times, but never now. If this was really the past then something had changed, or maybe his own presence was merely rubbing the man the wrong way. After all, in his own time he was often the cause for Moody's blow outs even when he wasn't purposely antagonizing the man.  
  
Still, no matter how confusing the situation, Harry was not one to back down and he very nearly jumped out of his chair, face to face with Moody and he shouted right back at the man, feeling his own restraints quivering under the growing pressure of his emotions. And Moody's own impatience and anger were so not helping.  
  
"Why don't you tell me what happened then?! You seem so sure to know what didn't happen, so maybe you can fill in the blanks for me! Only one problem, you weren't there! You can't know what happened! So why don't you shut up and behave like the little pet Dumbledore has made of you!"  
  
Silence reigned for only two seconds before Moody answered in a low, threatening voice. "I'm losing my patience with you!"  
  
"I've already lost mine!" Harry responded icily and as if to demonstrate, sparks erupted from his wand.  
  
Before it escalated, Kingsley grabbed Alastor and dragged him away from Harry while Dumbledore meant to gentle push Harry back down into his chair. "Don't touch me!" Harry all but snarled at the old man, before walking a safe distance away from everyone, lest he lash out.  
  
Everyone was watching him, the tension in the room nearly visible. Harry's eyes pricked as exhaustion set in, his headache thumped loudly in his head, his legs and arms quivered almost invisibly and his breathing got heavier. Moody has seriously drained his energy and he cursed himself for letting the man get to him. He heard soft calls of his name, no doubt trying to convince him to sit down and talk some more. Harry felt the cracks appear in his separate shieldings as foreign emotions slipped inside him, mixing with his already volatile mix of emotions. The world seemed to grow less sharp around him and he wondered idly if he'd lost his glasses before he realized too late that he was passing out. He had just enough time to feel fear rising up in him, before his world went black and he knew no more.  
  
"He will be alright, Sirius. He's just passed out, not very surprising after all the excitement that's been going on and not to mention he had already been in a battle before coming here. He just needs rest." Remus Lupin watched as his best friend sat anxiously at Harry's side. Sirius had been the one to catch the exhausted child after he passed out. He had proceeded to lay him on the sofa in the living room and had not strayed from his side for a second.  
  
An argument was rising in the neighboring room as Alastor Moody was cursing Harry for passing out. Remus knew the only reason that Moody was getting so upset was because the seasoned auror had made a huge mistake and he was berating himself mentally, no doubt. Of all the questions to ask, he went to ask Harry how he ended up here in the past, when the paranoid auror knew he should have first asked how he even managed to enter headquarters a second time without anyone noticing him. And now Harry was unconscious and in no shape to answer that question, which made the auror even more paranoid. If a mere boy could enter undetected then surely they needed to up security, but it would help if they knew how Harry had entered so easily.  
  
"Sirius, Remus can you please come here a second?" Someone called. Despite not wanting to leave Harry's side, both men reluctantly got up and went into the next room, passing Albus who made his way over towards Harry, probably to check on him. An inkling of unease settled inside both men, being as protective as they were of the child, but they let it go. This was Albus after all.  
  
Albus Dumbledore watched the now still boy on the sofa. He was truly an enigma, a peculiar event that even Albus couldn't figure out, not yet at least. Albus wans't sure what made him do it -perhaps his unquestionable curiosity- but he found himself reaching for the boys' mind once more. He had barely scratched the barriers' surface earlier but he could tell, even from that little, that the barrier -the mental shielding- was weaker in sleep. Despite this, Albus had a hard time getting through them and he was somewhat surprised that the boy didn't notice when earlier the barest scratching on the shielding had him striking out violently. Could sleep really muddle him so much?  
  
What he found inside were not regular memories, not even close. What he entered was a deep blackness that stretched forever. He could see nothing and he felt the dark surrounding him, pressing in on him and trying to make him lose himself. Already the knowledge that he was inside another's mind, that he was a person performing legilimency and that this was not reality in a sense, was slipping away from him. Albus turned around in the darkness only for a face to appear before him in such an abrupt fashion that he got startled. It lasted less than a second, only a flash, before it disappeared once more. He turned around and it happened again, this time with a loud bang to accompany the previously silent flash. Scraping noises suddenly entered the void but no matter how hard he listened or which way he turned, he couldn't find which direction it was coming from. Another face, another bang, more scraping. Someone was shouting, probably a name but Albus couldn't understand it. The faces grew more rapid in succession, the loud noise with each appearance growing louder and more vicious The scraping came closer and more frantic, like someone was tearing at a wooden floor. A green flash sped past him as the shouts increased, different voices each. The faces were now rapidly appearing, not matter which way he turned they were there, trading one for another. One in tears, the other smiling, another in anger and yet another and another and another. Whispers echoed in his mind I'm going to kill you - Scream for me - Don't you miss it? - Why do you not cry? - How does it feel, to be left behind?  
  
Screams suddenly filled the emptiness, screams of fear, of agony, of grieve. Feelings were swelling around and inside him, drowning him, suffocating him, paralyzing him. His eyes closed of their own accord but the faces still flashed in rapid succession before his eyes. He couldn't escape them, couldn't escape the sounds, couldn't escape the feelings. He was going down, down, down, down...-Vindico finis finium..!  
  
Abruptly Albus Dumbledore tore himself out of the boy's mind. He stumbled back breathing heavily when a scream very much real tore itself from Harry's throat. People came rushing into the room as Harry woke up and jumped off the sofa backing away only to very nearly collapse in the middle of the room. He managed to balance himself with a side table which wobbled dangerously as he frantically tried to control his shaking limbs.  
  
"What's going on!?" "Harry, what happened!?" "Albus, are you alright?!"  
  
Sirius rushed over to Harry, Remus following close behind but both were stopped a few feet from the struggling boy by Albus. "What have you done?" the voice was filled with grieve and worry, it showed in the man's eyes clearly for all to see. Harry looked up at the man, confusion in his own. "That spell...how..?" If people were startled at seeing Albus Dumbledore at a loss for words, it was nothing compared to how pale Harry suddenly became. A corpse couldn't have looked that pale even if they tried. Harry turned shocked eyes to the headmaster and in that short time, Albus saw what the boy would do, what he had to do.  
  
Harry turned to look at Sirius and Remus and whispered an apology before speaking an incantation in a clear voice; "Liberatio finis finium."  
  
Abruptly a white glow erupted from Harry, enveloped him before disappearing straight back into his body. Nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds, until Harry suddenly sagged where he stood and would have dropped hard on the ground had Sirius not caught him. Before Sirius had even a chance to word any concerns, he felt something wet on his hand. As he pulled it away he saw it was covered in blood. It didn't take long for everyone to notice then, that Harry Potter was bleeding profusely from an obvious gut wound. Bruises suddenly stood out more clearly on his face and neck, one of them looked remarkably like a strangulation mark, and more blood made itself known, dripping out of the end of his trousers, clearly his leg hid a serious injury too. Harry's breathing had became erratic and more one painful gasp after another, his eyes were dulled and Sirius bet on his life that if they removed his jacket and shirt, they would find bruised or broken ribs.  
  
A flame erupted in the middle of the room changing into Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet Phoenix, and without warning the bird landed on Harry and flamed the both of them away, leaving Sirius sitting alone on the floor covered in blood. But not for long as Albus, uncharacteristically, grabbed Sirius and Remus by their arms and pushed them into the green fire before shouting their destination. Immediately Albus followed leaving headquarters in a state of shock which would soon turn to outrage.

* * *

The Hospital wing was quiet, safe for the soft chime of the security spell upon Harry that would alert Madame Pomfrey if anything changed with her patient. Other than the sound, only a slight bundle of sparkles hovering above the bed gave anything away. Two chairs stood on either side of the bed, both occupied by none other than Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Only by his good hearing could Remus have detected the soft footsteps. Looking up, he saw the grave face of Albus Dumbledore. The man had left an hour ago -after Pomfrey assured them all that Harry would pull through- to inform the Order of what had happened. Remus already knew, as did Sirius. Albus had first explained it to them, what that incantation had done. It had been a spell to cancel the effect of another. A dangerous spell that had sort of like an on-switch and an off-switch, like the Lumos spell was canceled by Nox.  
  
Albus had explained that Harry has used a very dangerous spell that belonged under forbidden magic. A spell that took away natural boundaries, allowing magic to do things it shouldn't be able to and that were very dangerous in the long run. Harry had removed his magical boundaries and this had allowed him to force his magic to heal in his injuries in a sense. They would vanish and Harry would feel as if he was never hurt in the first place. this would allow him to continue fighting in a battle, or keep running from danger when the body couldn't go on, naturally. However, this spell, this magic was forbidden for a reason. It had taken many lives before it was deemed too dangerous. Cause the thing was, despite the injuries being healed and vanishing, that didn't mean they were gone. Time still passed on the injuries and when the spell was removed -on purpose or because the wizard could no longer sustain the spell- the injuries would return. But when they returned the injuries would have moved on with time, meaning that a shallow cut could return gushing blood. A minor concussion could turn a man braindead when the spell was removed. Injuries grow worse if not treated whether they are there or not. Only mediwitches and wizards who are trained in healing can treat injuries and even they need certain spells to do it. Raw magic cannot, should not be able to heal injuries, unless one removes the magical boundaries that depict this limit. an amiable goal in magic, but far too dangerous. One does not go against nature itself and magic by all means is another form of nature.  
  
"Why did he do it?" Sirius suddenly spoke softly from his hunched position in the chair, his hands clasped together before his mouth.  
  
"I'm not so much concerned with why he did it. People do strange and dangerous things all the time," Albus answered as he looked worriedly at the pale child in the bed. "I'm much more concerned with how he even found out about this magic. It is not magic for the faint-hearted neither is it magic one can easily find unless they know even remotely what they're looking for. What would make him so desperate to want to find such magic?"  
  
No one had an answer.  
  


_tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> \- Vindico finis finium = Liberate the Limits  
> \- Liberatio finis finium = Aquire the Limits.  
> Translations are from an online translator so they can be wrong of course.
> 
>  
> 
> Okay so that first long scene didn't go quite as I had planned. I had meant for Moody to question Harry first and foremost on how he managed to get inside hq again with no on noticing anything, but apparently I forgot to write that down somewhere, that was an idea I imagined in my head and forgot about obviously because I didn't write it down, and usually I'm so careful, I write down everything! Ah well, I hope you can forgive such a slip and that you approve of how I "fixed" it with Moody berating himself and such. I have a feeling Moody is extremely OOC and I apologize for that. Heck everyone is probably OOC.


	5. A Bite All The Way Through The Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up and soon another confrontation starts and a mysterious scar causes more trouble than anyone expected.

"Wakey, wakey!"  
  
"We've got news!"  
  
Still half asleep, Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned to look at the twins, Fred and George, as they entered the common room, the portrait of the Fat Lady swinging shut behind them. Both Fred and George wore identical grins on their faces and had a hop in their step that made especially Ron, nervous. It usually meant they thought of some new prank and they were going to test it on Ron.  
  
"What are you two up to this early in the morning?" Hermione went straight to business, her defenses up and running. She'd known the twins long enough to detect trouble.  
  
"You wound us, Mione!" Fred faked a horrifed gasp and fainted into George who deftly caught his brother and cried theatrically .  
  
"My brother, my twin. Why is she so cruel to you!? Don't leave me, stay!"  
  
"Oh bloody hell, give it a rest. It's bad enough when it's not the crack of dawn!" Ron complained loudly as he sunk further down in the comfy armchair. To his left on the sofa, Ginny was smiling at the twin's antics but remained silent.  
  
"Very well then..." Fred suddenly stood up, all signs of distress and injury gone.  
  
"Best we get on with it, I suppose," George continued, clapping his brother on the back.  
  
Both twins suddenly darted forward and leaned on either side of Ron's armchair. In a low conspirational voice they said, "We went for a nice walk in Hogwarts in the early hours of the day..."  
  
"...with the sun barely peaking over the horizon..." George added.  
  
"...and we came upon a familiar...what would you call him, George?"  
  
"Hmm... a familiar fellow conspirator..?"  
  
"Brilliant, brother. So, we came upon a familiar, fellow conspirator..."  
  
"...flooting about the hallways..."  
  
"...and as we are so polite, we stopped for a nice chat, cause that's what we do, we nice Weasleys..."  
  
"Yes of course, and we've had an unusually interesting conversation..."  
  
"If this is about Peeves then stop right there. I have no time to hear some silly tale spun by Peeves, thank you very much." Hermione interrupted, her head already buried deeply in her book once more.  
  
Fred and George shared a meaningful look, and in sync they slipped passed Ron's armchair -Ron sinking even further down in relief that they no longer inhabited his personal space, cause the twins could cause some serious havoc when they got within a certain range, their pranks were endless- and they plopped down on either side of Hermione, whom was situated on the other side of the sofa. Fred slung one arm around Ginny to his right, who happily cuddled up beside her brother, quite up for this rattling tale and her brother's antics.  
  
Hermione stiffened but refused to look away from her book, pointedly ignoring both twins. It was in vain of course. Nothing could deter the twins now. George agilely plucked her book away, which received a shriek from Hermione and a cry of outrage from Ron, but the next moment George had dropped the book on the side-table and slung his arm around Hermione, Fred doing the same with his free arm.  
  
"My, my, Hermione. You do remember what happened when you insulted your first ghost, do you? Moaning Myrtle? And Peeves here, he isn't even a ghost. Imagine the trouble he can cause such a pretty, smart girl like you?"  
  
"Oi, will you two cut it out already!" Ron stood up from his chair, his face turning red. He was clearly not happy with the twins pestering Hermione, or maybe it was how close they sat beside her, leaning into her personal space.  
  
"Easy, Ronniekins, we're only teasing. Now that we've got your undying attention..."  
  
"...let us continue our story..."  
  
"As we said, it happened in the early hours of the morning..."  
  
"...as we spoke to our fellow conspirator, Peeves..."  
  
"...that we received valuable intel concerning last night..."  
  
"...when the Headmaster returned to Hogwarts and brought at least two more people with him..."  
  
"...Peeves heard them speaking urgently in the Hospital Wing..."  
  
"...but he could not tell what they were saying..."  
  
"...but clearly something had happened last night..."  
  
"...and surely someone must have been injured for them to meet in the Hospital Wing..."  
  
"...but so far no one has come to inform us of anything..."  
  
"...but we know they haven't left yet..."  
  
"...and we were wondering if perhaps you would be interested in finding out more..."  
  
George then pulled something out of his pocket with his free arm. Dangling in front of Hermione's face, clearly for them all to see, was an extendable ear. Nothing happened for a solid minute as everyone stared transfixed at the ear. Ginny was the first to break the silence.  
  
"Well you know I'm up for it."  
  
"Might as well, it's not like we've got anything better to do. It's boring without Harry." Ron added.  
  
"Of course it's boring without him, he attracts trouble." Hermione countered with a smile.  
  
"Does that mean...?"  
  
"It wasn't an outright refusal, twin!"  
  
"Oh cut it out you two. Yes, I'm interested. Let's go already before I change my mind."  
  
Hermione jumped off the sofa, finally free of the twins, Ginny following suite immediately. Fred and George gave each other a high-five before jumping up as well and together the five of them left the common room.  
  


* * *

Harry broke the surface gasping desperately for much needed air. His arms and legs flailed around wildly trying to keep him afloat, but the current was strong and his strength was waning quickly. The freezing water crept into his limbs, reached beneath his skin aiming to freeze him from the inside-out. No amount of movement could slow the ever-growing cold seeping into his body. He felt his blood slow down, his lungs barely able to extend anymore and his heart beating less strong. He forgot to kick his legs only once but it was enough to make him plunge beneath the surface again, the frigid water grabbing hold on his face, reaching behind his eye-sockets, plunging into his ears and nose and forcing itself down his throat as panic overtook him and he gasped beneath the water. Black dots began to impare his vision, feeling left his body -he could no longer feel the cold or the wet- and his mind went blank...  
  
He collided painfully with solid ground, his hands gripping the dry dirt reflexively. He opened his eyes weakly but there was nothing to see. No trees, no plants, nothing. Just endless dirt and sand stretching in every direction. He vaguely noted he was completely dry. Suddenly the ground was no longer solid and Harry felt himself sink into it. His hands grabbed desperately at the lose ground catching nothing but soft sand which slipped right between his fingers. He let out a cry for help but found he was unable to produce any sound. He had no air in his lungs and as he tried to breath, he found he could not. His lungs wouldn't expend, his chest wouldn't move. There was no room to, he was stuck so tight in the sand that his whole body was being squeezed. He got dragged further down, sand pouring into his ears, his mouth, his nose and even into his eyes as if trying to fill him up like a sandbag. He choked, he gasped, struggled but he was stuck. He was going to be buried alive and there was nothing he could do. Black dots started appearing again and Harry wondered whether he'd die from the lack of oxygen first or if his body would fold in on itself breaking...  
  
Sharp, cold wind cut into his face, opening bleeding wounds on his cheeks. He found he could move his body again and he struggled against an invisible force that kept him floating in mid-air. He tried to breath, his chest and lungs were moving again, but found his body practically choking on the attempt. He couldn't breath, there was no oxygen in the air. His vision was already getting blurry as he curled in on himself holding his chest which hurt so badly. He could vaguely make out a storm just out of reach surrounding him. Eye of the hurricane, only without oxygen, without air...  
  
His body was burning like he had a fever. His eyes snapped open and widened as he saw the blazing fire roaring around him. The heat was increasing to an unbearable level making it hard to breath, but at least he could breath. His clothes caught on fire, he tried to take them off but the flames were already licking at his skin. He gasped in surprise at the pain but it only resulted in scorching heat racing down his throat. Flames erupted inside of him, burning his organs, burning him from the inside out. The agony was impossible to describe, impossible to even exist! He screamed and screamed, more heat and more flames reaching inside him burning, scorching, destroying...  
  


* * *

Hogwarts was quiet, as she was always in the summer. All the students had left for home, their families and the professors as well. Only the Headmaster remained the entire summer at Hogwarts, but even he was not always present. Today however, -and late last night- as the first light of dawn crept between the trees of the forbidden forest and slowly awoke the village of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts was not quiet. Neither was she loud or noisy, but there was more life than normal on this particular day in the middle of summer.  
  
Madame Pomfrey bustled out of her office, her quick footwork waking up the barely slumbering men sitting by the only occupied bed in the hospital wing. Remus Lupin blinked steadily as the medi-witch rushed past him and waved her wand busily over her only patient. On the other side of the bed, one Sirius Black startled awake -his eyes betrayed the fear inside as he clearly meant to stay awake- and he sat up straighter as he watched Pomfrey take another diagnosis of Harry, whom had not stirred since he collapsed late last night.  
  
Poppy Pomfrey was not at all pleased when she stormed into her hospital wing -after being summoned by the headmaster- to find one of her Hogwarts' charges in extreme dire circumstances, meaning at death's door. She had immediately taken action, commanding any around her. Remus was to fetch her a list of potions that he was to get out of her personal store in her office, Sirius was to hold Harry's body as still as possible and the headmaster was called to explain as she diagnosed what was ailing the boy.  
  
She found evidence of dangerous magic, forbidden magic, before Albus had even come that far in his explanation, and she had barked at him to hurry up and give her the abridged version so she would know what was wrong, now! The details could come later, once her patient was stabilized. Everyone in that hospital wing that night knew how angry and protective Pomfrey could be. Merlin knows, Sirius poked her temper quite often enough, but this time was different. As soon as she was told what Harry had done, she paled so suddenly that they all feared she'd suffered a stroke. But then color rushed back into her face and she went about fixing her patient. The eery quiet, and the tension in the air around her upset even Moony and Remus knew she was not only worried but Harry had done the impossible. He'd brought her to an un-achievable level of anger that she had never reached before and they wondered if it was at all possible to protect Harry when he would wake up, cause wake up Harry would, _-he had to._  
  
Caught up in the previous night's events, Sirius had not noticed her departure until he looked up and noticed she was already gone, retreated back into her office. It was a good sign if she did not linger, it meant Harry was doing fine and wasn't getting worse -if that was even possible. The blood loss he suffered in such a short time was terrifying and the wounds were deep and bad. They wondered how bad his injuries were when he received them for them to get so bad. Either he had cast the spell a while ago and thus the injuries had gotten so severe after a long period of time, or Harry's injuries had already been bad when he cast them and in a short time they'd gotten life-threatening.  
  
Sirius feared the last option, cause why else would one risk such a dangerous spell if they didn't need it desperately, as in one received bad injuries and needed the spell to keep going.  
  
A sudden scream penetrated the previously, overwhelming quiet. Sirius jerked out of his seat, toppling over his chair in the process, and clutched his godson in a desperate attempt to calm the distraught child. Remus mimicked his actions on the opposite side of the bed, his expression mirroring that of Sirius. Poppy entered the fray then, pushing passed Remus to reach her frenzied patient. Harry still screamed, barely a pause between screams, his body hurtling left and right as if trying to escape something.  
  
"He appears to be in pain."  
  
Poppy did not look away from her patient as she said this and so she missed the looks of horror on the faces of the two men. A commotion just outside the double doors to the hospital wing drew Remus' attention but his focus quickly returned to his young cub struggling in what could only be extreme pain, his voice already going hoarse from his screams. His attention focused on Harry, Remus still caught the tap-tap-tap and within seconds the double doors flew open and in rushed a worried looking Minerva McGonagall. Upon seeing and hearing the situation she paled considerably but wasted no time in asking Poppy what she could do to help. All of them together managed to force a calming draught down Harry's throat quickly followed by a dreamless sleep and they thanked Merlin when Harry calmed down.  
  
Sirius dropped into his chair never letting go of his godson's hand. Remus held strongly to Harry's other hand, needing the comfort just like Sirius. He was alright. He was alive. He would be alright. Minerva stood discussing with Madame Pomfrey when Albus entered the hospital wing. Upon seeing him enter, Remus remembered something.  
  
"I believe we should ward the hospital wing." He stated bluntly. All eyes turned to him, some confused, some curious. "I believe I heard something right before you entered Minerva. We cannot allow them to overhear anything right now."  
  
It was clear who _them_ were. The Weasleys and Hermione Granger were currently at Hogwarts. The idea that they could have overheard anything to do with Harry was suddenly a real worry. Nodding at Remus, Minerva immediately set upon warding the hospital wing. Albus stepped closer to the bed looking sadly upon the unconscious person in it.  
  
"How is he faring, Poppy?"  
  
Poppy sighed clearly not too happy about her patient's condition. "As well as can be expected. His wounds are healing normally now, but it's a slow process. Regular wounds I can easily heal within minutes but he's done a real number on himself. To rush the healing process now would be dangerous after what his body went through. Honestly, removing once' boundaries...what was that boy thinking?!" She chastised unable to hold back her frustration about her patient. If there was something she could not stand it was someone making things worse by not seeking proper aid.  
  
"Very well. Please keep me informed. Sirius, Remus..." There was no need to tell them or ask them to stay. Remus nodded at the headmaster whereas Sirius did not remove his gaze from his godson. Albus gave a weak smile before turning away. He felt the strong ward as he passed through the doors. Minerva had outdone herself on this particular ward. No one would enter this hospital wing unless they had permission or if they were injured.  
  
"I'll be in my office." McGonagall spoke suddenly. Again Remus nodded, to tense to speak as Harry's horrible screams still echoed in his mind. Minerva gave a knowing smile, worried deeply herself about the young Potter. Turning away and giving the two remaining family members of Harry some peace and quiet, she left the hospital wing closing the doors with a flick of her wand.  
  


* * *

Waking up has been and always will be confusing at first, unless you get woken up abruptly. Somehow the mind catches up faster then perhaps due to survival instincts still lingering deep within the human roots. But this time Harry woke up slowly, drowsily even. As his eyes slowly blinked against the light and shapes started to form, his mind remained sluggishly behind not comprehending what he was seeing or even realizing that he was seeing. Before his mind could catch up thoiugh, noise entered his already slow mind making waking up all the more confusing and tiring. Maybe it would be easier to just return to that encompassing blackness.  
  
"...happened...?"  
  
"Maybe...patient...through...lot...give it..."  
  
As his mind got a little clearer, Harry caught snippets of a conversation going on nearby. Slowly things started to clear up, his mind becoming more alert by the seconds until everything snapped into focus and he came to the horrible realization that he was lying in a bed, had probably been unconscious and he wasn't alone. With his quick seeker reflexes Harry flipped himself off the bed away from the voices and tumbled down onto his knees much to his chagrin. What was wrong with him?  
  
"Harry!" It was now clear there were only two people present, the distinction of two voices clear to Harry's hearing. Before either wizard could circle around the bed, Harry forced his protesting limbs to move and with difficulty he stumbled into a standing position, already backing away from the approaching men.  
  
Remus stopped immediately upon seeing Harry back away with fervor and managed to just barely grab a hold of Sirius before he bolted right towards his godson. Sirius gave him a frustrated growl before following the werewolf's gaze and seeing Harry's utter distrust of them both. With a heavy sigh he relaxed his stance and looked almost pleadingly at Harry.  
  
"Harry, are you okay? Are you hur- ?"  
  
"YOU POISONED ME!" For someone who just woke up Harry was extremely vocal and his accusation did not quite make sense to either Sirius or Remus who looked at each other confused, Siirus looking shocked above all as if he took the accusation as a personal insult.  
  
"Poisoned? Harry we would never. What makes you think we'd poison you?" Remus tried as Sirius still gaped at the accusation. Harry huffed in return, actually huffed at them clearly not believing them. And why should he, his body was ridiculously slow and uncoordinated. They'd done something to him!  
  
"You poisoned me..-!" Harry all but growled like a dog with his shackles raised, like Padfoot on occasion.  
  
"Harry we just gave you a calming draught af- ," Remus tried agian only to be interrupted as he almost expected to be.  
  
"So you drugged me!? It's only a minor step back from poisoning and you've admitted it so you might as well explain yourselves! You have no right to give me anything!"  
  
Sirius actually backed away as Harry raged and Remus did not like the way Harry's behavior was affecting his friend. It was known that Harry had a temper, but this was getting ridiculous. He was acting as if they were out to get him! And just like that Remus understood. Someone must have done something in the future, hurt Harry or betrayed him -he blanched at the thought of betrayal, Peters' still a fresh wound in his own heart and the thought of someone doing that to Harry.  
  
"What else did you give me?!" Harry promptly demanded as he moved slightly from where he was standing. Only now as he registered Harry moving, did Remus see it for what it was. In his hurry to get up and away, Harry had maneuvered himself into a corner and was clearly trying to get out of it now. Did he not trust them at all?  
  
"Just a calming draught and dreamless sleep." Remus answered almost tiredly. On the surface he just wanted to comfort Harry, reassure him while deep down Moony was demanding respect of his young cub. The two warring natures were exhausting at times but Remus had a firm hold on Moony this morning. He was not about to risk another incident like last night at Headquarters.  
  
"What else?" There was no accusation, no heat in his voice now. This time Harry spoke with an air of disbelieve.  
  
"That is all, Harry."  
  
"Sure. You didn't think of veritaserum? No poison? No diabolical concoction to force my cooperation?!" At their shocked expressions Harry couldn't help but retort. "Severus Snape is still alive, isn't he? Surely he wouldn't pass up this opportunity!?"  
  
"I'd skin him alive if he even considered doing anything to you!" Sirius -who had been noticeably quiet- all but growled. A strange look came over Harry, almost appreciative of Sirius' protectiveness, but it disappeared with a few seconds. The business mask -so to speak- returned and hard eyes stared defiantly back at the animagus and werewolf.  
  
For that one moment Sirius had seen him. That one vulnerable look revealed to him that Harry was the same as his Harry. He may be different, changed due to his future world but below all that, deep inside was that same boy who longed for a family and would do anything -even risk his own life- to keep that family. Sensing a way to reach his-not-godson, Sirius took a nervous step closer toward Harry, whom immediately stepped back looking ready to bolt.  
  
"Harry, do you know why I am your godfather?" The question seemed extremely random considering everything that was happening and it took both Harry as Remus aback. Nevertheless Sirius continued on, sensing he was on to something. "Did my other self ever tell you?"  
  
Harry looked suspiciously at Sirius, trying to deduce what he was playing at -if he was playing at anything. His tone was sincere and despite his wary disposition, Harry was curious. "No." A simple, direct answer. Quick and efficient since it seemed to decide for Sirius to go on.  
  
"The simple version is that your parents asked me to become your godfather and I accepted. But there was a lot more to it than just that, Harry. Before you were born James and Lily and Remus were my family and my sole purpose in life. I know it's sounds ridiculous, excegerated but it's the truth. When you were born however things changed, in a good way I think. As much as I loved my friends, my brothers and sister, you Harry became something more important than even them. I felt a connection to you and you brought a protectiveness to me I never thought I was capable of. It's no secret that I was constantly visiting. If I wasn't working with James or keeping Moony company, then I was with you. Lily even offered me the spare bedroom at some point."  
  
Sirius paused with a smile on his face as he recalled those precious times. Remus and Harry were both listening avidly, but it didn't make Harry lower his wand compeltely. The kid still didn't trust them.  
  
"A few weeks after you were born, James and Lily asked me if I wanted to be your godfather. I was ecstatic and wanted to shout yes immediately, but they stopped me before I could answer. They told me to wait and think it over for a few days and when I was ready I could give them my answer. I was confused, even slightly hurt thinking that they perhaps didn't trust me, but it didn't make sense since they already asked me to be your godfather. I went home and the first day apart from you was terrible. I was lonely. Remus came the next day to check up on me and seeing my state of mind explained to me why James and Lily told me to wait with my answer. Because being a godfather is more than what it seems. It's not just playing, babysitting occassionally, spoiling the kid when the parents are away. I realized then that if anything happened to James and Lily, your care -all of it- would fall on me. Raising a child, raising you. When I realized that I froze. I was glad that James and Lily stopped me from answereing, cause once answered you can't take it back and I loved and still lvoe you Harry. But the thought of being responsible for a child's life was shocking, scary even.  
  
I stayed home for two more days, ignoring the loneliness growing inside me as I pondered over my decision. After all, I didn't have much of an example of parenting in my life and I truly feared I would do more harm than good if i were to ever raise you. But the next morning, when I'd been away for three days form you, James and Lily, I returned. To avoid their questions I transformed into Padfoot and distracted myself with you. By the afternoon you were exhausted and fell alseep against me. As Padfoot I watched you sleep and I realized it was okay. It was okay if I didn't know how to be a parent, it was okay that I felt scared at the thought, it was okay if declined the offer. But I didn't. Because I realized that none of it mattered as long as you had a family, as long as you had someone with you that knew you, loved you and would do anything to keep you safe. My feelings were what was important. I could always ask for help if I ever needed it, but you can't force someone to love.  
  
James and Lily -in their own way- gave me the chance to discover what I was capable of. I was capable of raising you if ever something happened to them because I honestly loved you like my own son. In a way they convinced me of what kind of life I wanted. I wanted what they had, a family, a child and until I had my own, they would make sure I had you."  
  
Sirius finally looked up and saw to his surprise that he'd gotten through to Harry. The boy watched him with a vulnerable look in his eyes that almost made Sirius tear up. What in Merlin's name had happened to his kid? "Harry, your parents trusted me and gave me something I didn't know I wanted until I got it. I may not be your Sirius, but I'm still Sirius Black, godfather of Harry Potter and I'll be damned if I let you down, no matter what time or universe you're from."  
  
Slowly, Sirius stepped forward and this time Harry didn't step back. His wandarm was shaking slightly, his instincts and emotions waging war inside him. Sirius stopped a mere foot away form his godson and gently placed his hand on the child's wandhand. Slowly, but steadily Sirius pushed the wand down and to his surprise Harry lessened his hold on his wand allowing Sirius to take it away. And that's when things went bad.  
  
By instinct Harry grasped after his retreating wand while at the same time he was trying not to. Sirius out of reflex grasped hold of Harry's hand to stop him and upon contact a searing warmth spread from Harry's hand, burning into Sirius' own.  
  
"No!"  
  
Harry pulled away from Sirius, but he wasn't quite fast enough as the ex-auror grasped Harry's arm halting his retreat. Harry struggled and pulled close to panicking it seemed. "Harry, what's the matter?" Remus asked as he too stepped forward.  
  
"Let go!" Harry pulled free but Remus -with his werewolf speed- snatched hold of Harry's arm instead. "Let me go, let go now!" Harry all but snarled but Remus didn't let go. His gaze was focussed on Harry's hand and to Sirius' horror his pupils had dilated slightly. He was channeling Moony.  
  
"Remus, let him go!" Sirius shouted even as he tried to pry Harry's arm out of the werewolf's hold. But Remus was too strong and plainly ignoring Sirius.  
  
"Are you...?" Remus struggled to get the words out, both out of fear and because he was trying to restrain Moony. But Moony was livid and that made him extremely powerful.  
  
Sirius stopped his struggle trying to figure out what Remus was asking, but Harry seemed to have no problem understanding. "No. Now let me go!"  
  
"Then how... I know what that is, Harry. You can't lie to me, you can't lie to Moony. He can sense it!" Remus was getting more agitated and Sirius frnkaly had enough. He wanted to know what they were talking about and he wanted Remus to let go of Harry.  
  
"Enough, Remus. Let him go and stop ignoring me. What is going on with you?!"  
  
"The Scar, Sirius! Not that one, the one on his hand!" Sirius looked away form Harry's forehead, the scar he thought Remus referred to when he looked at Harry's hand and saw a clear scar in the form of a bite-wound. When did Harry have more than one scar? And why was it upsetting Remus so much. "It's a werewolf bite." Remus answered the unspoken question.  
  
"What?!" It was enough to shock Sirius into releasing Remus. "Harry?" Sirius all but begged that Harry would say it wasn't, but the kid was avoiding eye-contact and remained silent. It was as good a confession as any.  
  
Moony stirred violently at the silent confession. "Remus, let me go, you're hurting me." Harry begged. Remus immediately released him and Harry cradled his arm against his chest. "Harry, I'm so sorry, please..." Remus backed away, his whole form visibly shaking at the realization of what he'd done.  
  
"Harry, is it true?" Sirius had to know. PArt of him wanted to comfort his friend and part of him wanted to shout at him for his behaviour. But most of all, he needed to know.  
  
"I'm not a werewolf." Harry stated, though there was a tremble in his voice he couldn't hide. His words were sincere, but something about the subject disturbed him, that much Sirius could tell.  
  
"But if it's a werewolf bite...- " "It wasn't a full moon!"  
  
Silence followed Harry's outburst. Remus looked up at Harry whom stood trembling on his legs. His eyes were distant as if caught in a memory. Sparks from Harry's wand startled Sirius -a wand that laid on the floor. Harry's state of mind was setting of sparks to his wand when he wasn't even holding it?!  
  
Harry felt the panic taking control of him, something that hand't happened in a long time, something he thought he'd learned to control. He couldn't afford this to happen, not ever. The past was the past and he couldn't let it hurt him anymore. But Sirius and Remus, they knew or they at least suspected that he'd been attacked by a werewolf, that he'd been through something terrible. Did Remus know his fear? Did Remus realize why Harry didn't try to escape sooner at HQ? Did he hurt because of Harry's fear, like Ron was hurt each time ?  
  
 _"Scream for me..."_ **"NOOOOO!"**  
  
Harry felt the snap in his mind, like an elastic band being stretched too far, too often and finally breaking, snapping under the pressure. A flood washed though his mind and body, overwhelming him. Fear, pain, hurt, confusion, anger, self-blame, despair, grieve... and .. regret, an apology without words..something was there... something was sorry...something...some...so...  
  
"Hurry, get Poppy!"  
  
Sirius sat on the ground cradling his unconscious godson from the future who had dropped like a brick without warning. What in Merlin's beard was happening around here?  
  


_tbc_


End file.
